Russia offers Britain way-out of culture row

MOSCOW- Russia on Monday held out the prospect that the British government's cultural arm could re-open its offices, the subject of a bitter row, if Britain restarts talks on counter-terrorism and entry visas.

Russia forced the British Council to shut its two offices outside Moscow last week after a dispute in which officials summoned the Council's local staff for interviews and Britain accused Moscow of using Cold War-style intimidation tactics.

British diplomats say Russia's move against the Council offices was part of a feud that has been simmering since Kremlin critic and Russian emigre Alexander Litvinenko was killed by radiation poisoning in London in 2006.

A car drives past the building of the British Council in Moscow January 18, 2008. Russia on Monday held out the prospect that the British government's cultural arm could re-open its offices, the subject of a bitter row, if Britain restarts talks on counter-terrorism and entry visas. (REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin)

A Russian foreign ministry official on Monday linked talks on the status of the British Council's regional offices to resuming counter-terrorism cooperation with Russia's Federal Security and talks on relaxing visa rules.

"If all this returns to a normal state of affairs ... then it will create the conditions for negotiations on the status of the offices," said Andrei Krivtsov, deputy director of the foreign ministry's information and press department.

"In such a way it will be a step towards reopening the (British Council) representative offices," he said.

The counter-terrorism and visa talks were suspended in the diplomatic fallout from the Litvinenko murder, when Russia refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoy, the man Britain suspects of killing him. Lugovoy denies any role in Litvinenko's death.

The British Council promotes Britain's culture abroad by organising exhibitions, concerts and student exchanges. Russia says its regional offices were operating illegally. Talks to find a solution were also suspended over the Litvinenko affair.